Men's Soccer

Gauchos in the Pros: Luis Silva Nets First Career Hat Trick in 4-2 DC United Win

Luis Silva (By Adam Caira)

Jun 12, 2014

MONTREAL – UC Santa Barbara men's soccer alum Luis Silva scored a hat trick, the first of his career, on Wednesday night as part of a 4-2 win for DC United at the Montreal Impact's Saputo Stadium.

Silva opened the game's scoring in just the sixth minute after providing a diagonal run into the box and a first-touch finish of a brilliant Fabian Espindola pass, but United quickly fell behind after Montreal netted twice before the 21-minute mark.

United's Nick DeLeon leveled the match at 2-2 just two minutes later, then Silva scored the eventual game-winner in the 39th with a spectacular sliding mid-range strike from a few yards outside the box. He tacked on an insurance penalty marker in stoppage time of the first half.

After combining for six goals in the first half, neither team managed to find the back of the net in the final 45 minutes, clinching the win for United.

The win improved DC United's record to 7-4-4 (25 points) and put them at the top of the Eastern Conference standings heading into the World Cup break.

Not only was it the first hat trick, but also the first multi-goal game of Silva's MLS career. The three-goal night equaled his entire 2013 scoring tally.

The Los Angeles native now has 11 goals in his pro career: six with DC United and five with Toronto FC, where he spent his rookie season after being UCSB's highest ever SuperDraft selection at fourth overall in 2012.

In his UCSB career, Silva totaled 28 goals and 23 assists for 79 points, fourth most in program history. His 44-point senior year in 2011 (17 goals, 10 assists) is tied for the most single-season points in program history and made the midfielder a MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist and First Team All-American.

You can watch each of Silva's three goals here (first goal), here (second), and here (third).

Season tickets for the 2014 season, including exciting home games against challenging opponents UCLA, Cal Poly, Northwestern, and Cal State Northridge, are now available! Tickets start out as low as $4 with the popular Family Plan. To secure your seats today, call the UCSB ticket office at 805-893-UCSB (8272) or order online here.